I have an extensive background in how site design affects ecommerce sales and usability, so I have some very specific ideas about what makes the perfect WordPress design. Using WordPress as a Content Management System (CMS) allows a blog to incorporate the best features of any Web site.
These ideas include where something should be on the page and what it should look like. As time allows I will link in additional posts explaining exactly why I (and those I learned usability from) recommend specific placement of certain important features. I will also explain what each of the items mentioned below is for the benefit of those new to Web design. For now I’ll make this more concise:
Best WordPress Design Tips:
- Clean, simple and uncluttered
- Header with rounded edges
- Two columns
- Posts in the left column
- One sidebar to the right side
- Additional navigation at the bottom
- Backgrounds that have clearly defined areas for the header, posts, sidebar, and footer
- Tabbed navigation
- Rounded corners on backgrounds, text areas, images and logos
- No more than three text colors and three fonts
- Great plug-in functionality
- Matching Logo, Avatar, and Favicon
Unpleasant WP Design Features:
- Too little contrast between background and text making it difficult to read
- Backgrounds that don’t fit the area that contains content
- Too blocky with square corners
- Excessively long pages
- Cluttered – too busy
- Ads everywhere
- Too many colors
- Use of more than three fonts or type sizes
- Sections on top of other areas
- Aesthetically unpleasing to the eye
NOTE: These are my idea of optimum based on years of experience. That experience includes tracking the effect changing Web sites had on sales. You may have a specific reason for breaking the above “rules” as rules are only guidelines. It is always best to know the guidelines before you decide to “break” them!
Let’s continue with Perfect WordPress Theme Design Part 2: Headers, Search, SideBars, Footers.
RELATED POSTS:
- What is The Perfect WordPress Theme? (First in this series; this post in the second.)
- Perfect WordPress Theme Design Part 2: Headers, Search, SideBars, Footers (Next post in this series)
